By Bida Elly David
The National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) has submitted the Bank of South Sudan and banking laws act amendment Bill 2023 to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs noting that most amendments of bills have been pending due to delays by political parties.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Gichira Kibara the chairperson of the NCAC said that the two amended bills are meant to regulate and strengthen the roles of Central bank and other banks toward stabilizing the country’s economy.
He said that the Country’s economy has been in the state of jeopardy due to the fact that the laws were no strong but rather in the process of rectification.
“We were here to present the Bank of South Sudan amendment act and the Banking laws amendment act that govern the banking sector. They are very important making sure that the monetary policy and also the financial transactions are done according to the law,” he said.
Kibara echoed that the problems that affected the monetary and fiscal policy are some of the variables that gave rise to lack of development.
“They are part of the reforms that are being done to strengthen the economic and the financial sector in the Country to ensure that a foundation is laid for the development of the Country,” he added.
The NCAC chair underscored that the two submitted bills would play crucial roles in strengthening and restoring back the broken economy by regulating the banking sector that has passively impeded the living standards of civil livelihoods.
“We are very happy that the Minister of Justice received the two bills which will then proceed to the Cabinet and after that will reach to the TNLA. The bill is to strengthen the bank of South Sudan in terms of its independence, efficiency and effectiveness in regulating its activities,” he said.
Kibara further added that the bills would also reduce banking risks since there have been reported cases of frauds by some banks across the Country.
“There is always a risk of banks misbehaving and sometimes being fraudulent to the citizens. You have your account in the bank then your money is lost through the bank and money goes off from the customers,” he lamented.
Kibara hinted that proper bank regulations such as legal provisions would enable citizens especially bank clients to have confidence and trust if all transactions are properly run.
He however underscored that foreign reserves such as the United States Dollars overpowered the exchange rate market because they have never been properly regulated to avoid being a problem every time.
“There must be enough reserves in the bank of South Sudan to ensure that those who want to import good can get the foreign currency to do that. Part of the bill gives power to the Central bank to regulate monetary policy and regulate commercial banks in South Sudan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gabriel Isaac Undersecretary at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs said that the submitted laws are very important for the organization of the Country’s banking system.
He commended the NCAC for the crucial role played in amending most constitutional bills.
“For sure those are very special laws for the organization of the banking system in the Republic of South Sudan both financially and monetary. We are very excited for receiving them from the NCAC,” he said.
Dr. Isaac however noted that the South Sudan laws have been amended to the international standards with a simple language that citizens can easily understand without interpretation.
“Those laws will govern the issue of the hard currency as well as the local currency on how they would operate in the market,” he said.
The undersecretary said that the bills shall be tabled before the council of ministers for studies and further deliberation and then referred to the national assembly (R-TNLA).